The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c12.41

c12.41

“Those who have charge of the city,” says Strabo, “are divided into six bodies of five each. The members of the first look after everything relating to the industrial arts. Those of the second attend to the entertainment of foreigners. To these they assign lodgings, and they keep watch over their mode of life by means of those persons whom they give to them for assistants. They escort them on the way when they leave the country, or, in the event of their dying, forward their property to their relations. They take care of them when they are sick, and, if they die, bury them.⁵ The third body consists of those who inquire, when and how births and deaths occur, with a view, not only of levying a tax, but also in order that births and deaths among both high and low may not escape the cognizance of the government. The fourth class superintend trade and commerce. Its members have charge of weights and measures and see that the products in their seasons are sold by public notice. No one is allowed to deal in more than one kind of commodity, unless he pays a double tax. The fifth class supervises manufactured articles, which they sell by public notice. What is new is sold separately from what is old, and there is a fine for mixing the two together. The sixth and last class consists of those who collect the tenth of the prices of the articles sold. Fraud in the payment of this tax is punishable with death. Such are the functions which these bodies separately discharge. In their collective capacity they have charge both of their special departments, and also of matters affecting the general interest, as the keeping of public buildings in proper repair, the regulation of prices, the care of markets, harbours, and temples."